As of now, the best update I have is the Pistons Twitter (and ESPN) saying that they believe Rodney had some sort of seizure on the bench. Seeing him grasping Arnie Kander was incredibly scary and sombering, as anyone who was watching will surely agree with me. All I can think of is watching Jiri Fischer collapse on the Wings’ bench, a memory which still seems all too recent.

Thankfully, as of the latest update, Rodney is conscious and breathing on his own. I’m sure he’s undergoing a number of tests and we can only hope that there aren’t any serious underlying causes. Huge props to the Cavaliers for joining with the Pistons for a postgame prayer, hopefully fans and viewers around the country joined them.

I’ll keep checking around the internet and keep you updated on any new information.

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UPDATE: This completely slipped my mind, but Rodney “dropped to his knees” with dizziness last season following a halftime buzzer.

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UPDATE: According to a Yahoo (AP) article, Rodney did not have a seizure, but instead had another severe dizziness/fainting episode like before. As of now, he is alert and talking, which is great news…let’s hope more good news is on the way.

He’s alright, but he’s not him.

Rodney Stuckey is good but he is no Dwyane Wade. In fact, he’s far from him. Not even on his planet!

There has been talk all around town about how Stuckey is just as good as Wade and how he could possibly be better than him but this is absolutely absurd! The Pistons fans in the state of Michigan are way to eager to place him in the same caliber with the elite players of the National Basketball association way before he pays his dues.

I can see where the Wade and Stuckey comparisons stem from but I am not ready to entertain them in any way, shape, or form. They do have similar slashing  ability, as well as a similar body type and overall agressiveness (…and the same jersey number) but that is where it stops.

Wade’s abilities are unmatched, especially from someone of Stuckey’s stature.

Despite the Miami Heat’s, 93-90, loss to the Detroit Pistons last night at the Palace of Auburn Hills, The Flash was still in the place with style and grace. Wade laced the Pistons with 29 points, 7 rebounds, 13 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.

Stuckey held his own though as he dropped 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists on the Heat.

This was a decent win but the Pistons are still struggling as they finally snapped thier four-game losing streak. It’s kind of hard to be optimistic about the franchise when they continue to struggle so badly.

The fans are even realizing this as the Pistons’ franchise-record sellout streak at 259 games was also snapped last night.

When the league leader in points can’t fill up the house then there is more than a problem.

By Eric Woodyard – Piston Post Writer

With 8.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter following a timeout, the Charlotte Bobcats have possession. The game is knotted at 78 apiece in the Palace of Auburn Hills versus the Detroit Pistons.

Bobcats’ point guard and former North Carolina Tar Heel, Raymond Felton, gets the ball on the inbounds play. The trade rumors are the last thing on his mind as he is matched up against the new star of the Pistons, Rodney Stuckey. He keeps his composure as he sizes Stuckey up with a baby dribble at the 4.1 mark on the clock. Stuckey never bites on the dribble and keeps his balance until Felton uses that baby dribble to bait him into his real move.

Felton goes between the legs, in and out with the left hand, crosses over to his right, and finally pulls up for the 20 foot jumper…swish!! (…his 12th point of a perfect fourth quarter in which he connected on all five of his field goals including two three-pointers!)

He would finish with 23 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds.

The Pistons immediately ask for time to regroup.

With .7 seconds left on the clock, the Pistons hope they can pull a Derek Fisher. For what it’s worth Allen Iverson hit a buzzer beater to take them into halftime with a 48-41 lead over the Bobcats.

Following dagger from Felton, Detroit comes out of the timeout and gets Iverson open from a baby curl set on the other side of the court. He gets an open shot but can’t connect as he clonks the jumper at the buzzer. The Pistons lose 80-78 at home. How hapless!

This is not what Iverson envisioned it would be like when he faced his former head coach/mentor, Larry Brown. The days of Iverson asking “Where my coach?” are gone. This was not a tribute to Coach Brown as Iverson claimed it was following his All-Star game MVP performance in 2001.

As soon as the buzzer sounds and the Pistons lose, Brown greets Iverson with a hug and a few words of advice which means nothing to the Answer as the Bobcats snap their six-game losing streak to the Pistons. This was their first win over Detroit since January of 2007. It had to be gargantuan for Charlotte. I can only imagine it would be.

In Felton’s interview with Pistons’ Broadcaster, Eli Zaret, following the game he expressed why he was so successful.

“I was just taking chances within the game and not forcing things,” Felton says. “(Larry Brown) has made me better as a point guard and he’s always tough on his point guards.”

Although they may not want to admit, Pistons Head Coach, Michael Curry should have followed the same formula that Brown uses for his point guards and been tough on Rip Hamilton by leaving him out of the starting lineup.

Allen Iverson thought different.

“That had nothing to do with us losing this game, the lineup that we started with, that lineup is gonna play the majority of the game anyway regardless if we started that way,” Iverson says. “Tonight we even finished that way, so I don’t think that had nothing to do with it. We just got beat. We lost a game that we should’ve won…easily!”

With an 18-14 overall record since the Iverson project began in early November, you have to wonder ‘just when the Detroit Pistons are going to play consistent basketball?’

The project will continue tonight when they face off against Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis at 7 p.m.

Rodney Stuckey became the first EWU alumni to have his jersey retired as the school recognized a rising star making a name for himself in the NBA.

Stuckey, who averaged better than 24 points a game for the Eagles, had one of the best freshman seasons in NCAA Division I history and broke seven school records in his first year.

Stuckey was available for autographs after the game while the line of hundreds of fans circled the gym.

Rodney is averaging 13.5 points and 5 assists per game in the 2008-2009 NBA season.

He has started at the point every game since December 9.

By Adam Debrowski – pistonpost@gmail.com

Photos courtesy of Eastern Washington University.

• It’s tough for the Detroit Pistons to get accustomed to the sweets sound of the Jazz being played in Utah. The Pistons fell to the Utah Jazz again last night, 99-82, in Salt Lake City which marked the fourth straight season that the Jazz have swept the Pistons in the regular season. [Eric]

•Mehmet Okur was hot early and dominated all 21 minutes he was on the floor. Finishing 8-9 from the field, Memo continues to be a “bad karma” Pistons-killer. [Adam]

•Iverson may have needed Teena Marie to help him out to “turn on his fire and desire.” He was noticeably out of sync and made no excuses, as indicated in his quote after the game.
“No excuses,” Iverson said. “It had nothing to do with being the last game of the trip, dead legs, anything. They were just better than us and they whooped us tonight.” [Eric]

•Stuckey had to “use them and abuse them” as he went off for 19 points to lead Detroit. [Eric]

•Stuck’s ability to play through 33 minutes of pain while commiting minimal turnovers (1) demonstrates his impending leadership. He has shown that his team comes before himself. [Adam]

•Sheed’s back, and although his 8-and-4 performance wasn’t breathtaking, it could have been worse. He’ll shake the rust off. [Adam]

•While failing in other defensive aspects, the Pistons did a superb job containing the monster that is Paul Millsap. Detroit halted his double-double streak at 19 games, the Jazz’ longest since John Stockton’s record 27. [Adam]

•Although the Jazz may have dimmed their flame just a tidbit, the Pistons will continue to roll as they will face the Charlotte Bobcats at home on Tuesday. [Eric]

•Tayshaun’s game has elevated to incredible heights since AI came to town. If Iverson isn’t taking shots in the clutch, Tay is, and he hasn’t disappointed. I used to be scared of wild shots or impending turnovers when Tayshaun took over late in the 4th. Now, however, there’s no Piston I’d rather have with the ball in his hands.

•It’s pretty apparent that J.R. Smith didn’t play at the collegiate level- his ability to be part of a team is nonexistant. Not to say that teamwork is never a part of a straight-to-NBA player’s resume (e.g. Kobe), but Melo shows the same game Smith does. Coincidence? I respect George Karl for holding back and not strangling both of them, because I know the urge is there. I’m happy it panned out in Detroit’s favor, but it’s a shame that J.R. basically solidified the Nug’s loss with his selfish shot selection in the clutch.

•Arron Afflalo. Six HUGE free throws. That’s called keeping your composure.

•Do we even need Rip and Sheed back? Their absences have been felt, but Detroit has pulled out a W in each of the last nine games, save a very narrow loss in Portland. Let them rest, Arron and Amir gotcha back.

•Does altitude affect the rims? I haven’t seen more in-and-out shots for the entire season combined as I saw last night, for both sides.

•Dice seemed to feed off the boos. Sounds like Denver is still a bit sour about the buyout.